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(No Model.) j

H. W. GRANIER. COMBINED GUIDE yAND FISHv PLATE. No. 517,330. PatentedMar. 27,1894.

HENRY W. ORAMER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF .WILLIAMMIDDENDORF, OF SAME PLACE.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. v

COMBINED GUIDE AND FISH-PLATE.

SPEGFIGATION forming part-of Letters Patent No. 517,330, dated March 27,1894.

Application filed December 4, 1893. Serial No. 492,657. (No model.)

.To a/ZZ whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. ORAMER, of the city of St. Louis, State ofMissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in aCombined Guide and Fish-Plate, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forminga part hereof.

My invention relates to a combined guide and fish-plate, and consists inthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed and designated in the claims.

The object of my invention is to construct a fish-plate that can bereadily applied to the meeting ends of railway rails without the aid ofbolts.

A further object isto construct a lishplate in one piece, having a baseand two upwardly projecting canted sides, one of said sides beingshorter than the base and the opposite canted side.

' In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved guideand sh-plate, the same being detached from the rails. Fig. 2 isa-vertical' transverse section of the fishplate, showing it connected toa rail. Fig. 3 is a top plan View, showing the manner in which` thefish-plate is made .to engage the meeting ends of the rails.

Referring to the drawings, the numeralY 10 indicates the fish-platewhich is provided with a base 1l and two upwardly projecting cantedsides 12 and 13, lwhich are cast integral with said base. the cantedsides 12 and 13, they form a longitudinal opening 14 through thefish-plate 10. This opening is of such a size and shape as to conformwith the lower portion of the rail or rails 15, which are of theordinary T construction, and the upper ends of said canted sides 12 and13 are of suitable height as to engage the under side of the ball of therail. The side 13 beinglocated on the inner portion of the track, it iscut away a suitable amount so that the iianges of the wheels By theconstruction of which pass over said rails will not engage said side,while the side 12, being located on the outer side of the track, isformed heavier to withstand the strain that is applied to it, especiallyin curves when a train passes over the rails. The base 11 projectsoutward beyond each end of the sides 12 and 13, which form a guide 16thereon, and one or more notches are formed in each edge of the base 11,adjacent to the sides 12 and 13, so it can be engaged by spikes or,bolts whichare driven into the railway tie to prevent the fish-platefrom moving longitudinally on the rails after it has been placed inposition.

To apply the improved fish-plate to the meeting ends of the rails 15,the operator slips said fish-plate on the end of one of the rails, untilthe end of said rail is llush with the adjacent end of the side 12 ofsaid fish-plate, and the side 13 being longer than the side 12 itprojects beyond the end of said rail, so that when the end of theadjacent rail is placed on the guide 16 and slipped over on said guidetill it comes in contact with the adjacent end of the side 13, the railswill be in alignment with each other, so that the sh-plate 10 canreadily be slipped up over the meeting ends of said rails, asillustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. When this is done a tie is placedbeneath the fish-plate, and said fish-plate is spiked to the tie to pre-Vent it from longitudinally moving on said rails.

By practical operation of myimproved` lishplate, I have found it to bevery convenient (notwithstanding its durability) when it is desired toreplace a broken or fractured rail, or splicing a rail, as no bolts ofany kind have to be used, and in the old method of splicing rails holeshad to be drilled in'them,V

which required a great deal of time and machinery. l

What I clai-m is 1. A flshplate, comprising a base, two canted sidesformed integral with the upper side of said base, said sides beingshorter than said base and one of said sides being heavier than theother side, substantially as 1o shorter than the other, which forms aguide set forth. 16 on each end of said base, substantially as Intestimony whereof Iafx my signature in set forth. presence of twoWitnesses. 5 2. A sh p1ate, comprising a base, two

canted sides formed integral with the upper HENRY W' CRAMER' side ofsaid base, said sides being shorter Witnesses: than the base, one ofsaid sides being shorter W. J. SANKEY, than the other, and the shortside being JNO. C. HIGDoN.

